Swiss solar roofs could produce 83% of all power demand

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy says panels spread across every rooftop in the country could generate around 50tWh of electricity a year

Swiss countryside

Solar panels installed on every roof across Switzerland could produce 83% of the nation’s entire electricity demand.

That’s the calculation made by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, which worked out potential generation by combining maps from Swisstopo with weather data from Swiss Meteo.

It worked out a countrywide rollout of panels would produce around 50tWh of electricity a year – total annual demand is 60tWh.

The organisation estimated covering the nation’s roofs would cost around CHF100 billion (£76.7bn), about 15% of Switzerland’s annual GDP.

At a price of CHF0.08 (£0.06) per kWh, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy estimates these solar panels together could produce CHF4 billion (£3.1bn) worth of electricity in their first year and CHF108 billion (£82.8bn) over their 30-year lifetime.

Every year Switzerland currently produces 64tWh of power and consumes around 60tWh.

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